Hyrule's Lullaby
by SparklyDreamz
Summary: This is a retelling story of The Ocarina of Time game from Legend of Zelda on N64. This fanfic contains canon and fan theories to fill in plotholes in the game. Written for those who love the game or those who have been curious about it, but haven't been able to play it.
1. The Beginning

_In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule... _

_Long have I served as the guardian spirit... _

_I am known as the Deku Tree..._

_The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy. However, there is one boy who does not have a fairy..._

Asleep in a lost dream, the boy was restless. There was a rainy night with thunder. The boy was in a place he didn't exactly recognize. It looked like a castle. The large, wooden bridge fell down in no time, a horse jumping over it with a female riding the animal with a small girl sitting in front of her as if protecting her. The boy's eyes met a feared expression of the little girl. After a loud thunder, the boy turned around, surprised by a large, evil-looking man. His eyes had something dark in them, his hair red. He looked angry. He seemed to be after the girl, but for what was unknown. After one more thunderous strike, everything turned blank...

_Navi..._

_Navi, where art thou?_

_Come hither..._

_Oh, Navi the fairy... Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree..._

_Does thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm..._

_Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule... For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world. But... before this tremendous evil power, even my power is as nothing... It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey. The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth..._

_Navi... go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me... I do not have much time left. Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!_

A glowing ball with wings spreads its white wings, flying away through the trees as it made its way out to find the boy the Deku Tree was seeking. It flew through the air, seeing many fairy children looking up to the lonely fairy with curious eyes. But none of them was missing a guardian. ''Hey!'' Navi called as she saw a boy outside. No response. The boy seemed to already have a guardian. Looking around some more, Navi noticed a tree house standing. That was where the boy must live. With a nod the fairy flew towards it - only to bump her head against a tall fence. Shaking off the pain, Navi flew through the holes the fence had to reach the tree house. Luckily for her, the houses didn't have doors and it was open to enter.

Inside the tree house, Navi saw a sleeping boy who didn't seem to have a guardian fairy. She flew up to him. ''Hello, Link! Wake up! The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you! Link, get up!'' The fairy tried to wake him, but the boy seemed to refuse. He groaned a bit, turning away from the annoying fairy that tried to interrupt his slumber. ''Hey! C'mon!'' Navi bounced up and down a bit angrily in the air as the sleeping boy refused to listen. ''Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?!'' Finally, the sleeping boy decided to wake up. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He was a little bit surprised to see the glowing creature inside his tree house. ''You finally woke up!'' It took way too long for him to wake up. ''I am Navi the fairy! The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on, nice to meet you! You probably have many questions to ask, but the Great Deku Tree has summoned you, so let's go now!'' Link looked at the flying, magical thing and nodded, standing up from his bed to go outside.

It was wasteful to stay inside. The weather was clear, sun shining through the trees in the forest. A girl with short, green hair and a green Kokiri dress ran up to the tree house, waving at the boy who was still standing on top. ''Yahoo!'' The fairy girl excitedly greeted. It was Link's friend Saria. Link made his way down, climbing down the wooden ladder that was used to get up in his house. He jumped off when there were still three steps left. ''Wow! A fairy! Finally, a fairy has come to you, Link!'' She truly was happy for her friend, surprised to see the flying creature. ''That's such great news, I am so happy for you! Now you're a true Kokiri, Link.'' Saria smiled and laughed happily for him. Link was still surprised by it too, explaining to her the reason why a fairy finally had come to him of which he still wasn't sure why. ''Is that right? The Great Deku Tree has summoned you?'' The fairy girl looked a bit surprised by this but happy at the same time. ''It's such an honor to talk to the Great Deku Tree! I mustn't hold you up. I will be waiting for you here. Get going! You shouldn't let the Great Deku Tree wait!''

Waving bye to his friend, Link moved on to go see the Deku tree. Everybody in the forest knew where it was. Link took a right turn, having to cross water to get there. He stepped back to make a fast movement to jump over the water without falling in it. It was a child's game. Unfortunately, there was a fairy boy blocking the path to the Great Deku Tree.

''Hold up right there!'' The fairy boy spoke, one hand placed on his hip and the other out in front of Link to signify he wasn't allowed to go on. ''If it isn't 'Mr. No Fairy'. What is your business with the Great Deku Tree? Without a fairy, you're not even a real man!'' It was common sense to the fairy boy, but taking a closer look he saw something different on Link. ''What!? You've got a fairy?! Say what? The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you?'' There was a long pause as the other couldn't believe his ears. And eyes. ''Whaaaaaaaat?!'' This was unbelievable and unacceptable; his eyes were filled with disbelief. ''Why would he summon YOU and not the great Mido?'' There must be something wrong with the Great Deku Tree. Mido, the fairy boy's name, looked away in anger. ''This isn't funny...'' He muttered. ''I- I don't believe it!'' He said, huffing and crossing his arms against his chest. ''Besides, you're not even fully equipped yet! How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree if you don't even have a sword and shield?'' There Mido had a point, but Link too had to kindly remind the fairy he had no equipment either. ''W...What? Yeah- you're right, I don't have my equipment ready, but... if you want to pass through here you should get a shield and sword!'' Mido didn't budge, refusing to let Link go through without anything on him. ''Sheesh!''

For now, Link had no other choice but to listen to Mido. With a sprint, he jumped back over the water where he came from earlier. He could ask Saria for help, but he didn't think she would know where he could get a sword. Link had seen a shield not long ago in the shop. Thinking deeply, Link ran around through his hometown to see where he could find the sword. It must be in a well-hidden place he assumed. Walking up a hill, Link reached the training field. Some fairy children (mostly the boys) came here to spar and work out. There was a small hole big enough for a small human or any fairy to crawl through the wall. There was a sign next to it.

'Watch out, danger!'

Was what it said. What could be dangerous about it? It had Link curious what possibly could be up on the other side of this wall. Navi chimed. ''Hey!'' She called to Link. ''Do you think the sword might be up ahead there? It's a pretty well-hidden spot! Let's see if you can fit through the hole, Link.'' It looked like that Navi had the same idea as the boy. Link nodded his head to the fairy and got on his hands and knees right in front of the tight hole. He made sure to be aware of not bumping his head, that might be painful. He slowly crawled forward and it was a perfect fit for his small body. He crawled all the way through it, making sure not to stand up too soon before he would hit his head. Once fully out, Link stood up. He patted some dirt off his knees and looked around. He did hear something from not too far like something was rolling. He decided to follow the sound. Link knew he had to be careful, because of the warning sign before he crawled through the gap and yet...

It was a very close step. Link was just in time to avoid it. A huge boulder rolled around. So that was the danger the sign was warning about, no wonder! Link peeked from his spot to see where the boulder rolled to and saw not far away from him a chest resting. Bingo! Carefully he looked around and listened if the boulder didn't come back. He took a sprint towards the chest, climbing on the rock it was resting on. ''Open it, Link!'' Navi excitedly bounced up and down. Link too felt a rush of excitement flowing through him. It was clear on his face too. He opened the chest slowly, pushing the heavy valve up to see what was inside. In there was the sword Mido was talking about. With a large grin on his face, Link picked the sword up. It wasn't a big one, but big enough for him to carry it on his back. ''Neat! You've found it, Link! Let's go back and get a shield. Watch out for the boulder!'' Safely he returned back to the other side of the wall, this time with a new-found sword. Link was too excited and took it out to look at it. It was shining against the reflection of the sunlight. He swung the sword to test the feel of it. For fun he cut some grass, finding hidden rupees in it. That was right, he needed rupees to be able to buy a shield, his own rupee bag was completely empty. If this was the way to gain some rupees...

''Ha! Ya! Hiyaaa!'' With a large spin (or as large as it was for the boy!) Link cut some more grass. Not only that, he decided to break some pots too by picking them up and throwing them. What a thrilling feeling! The boy had lots of fun. He entered a few fairy children's houses to find the pots, throwing them like he was on a rampage. The children stared at him, making a face. Link was just about to throw another pot until he noticed their stares. Holding it up above his head the blond laughed a little nervously. Gently he placed it back down on the carpet, stabbing it quickly with his sword to get a rupee out of it. He fetched it in his hand and with another nervous laugh, he ran out of the house. They all must think he was crazy. He collected a few more until he was done.

With a bag full of rupees Link walked up to the shop. A very small fairy who couldn't even reach above the counter was jumping up and down in hope he could greet his customers. ''Welcome, welcome! What can I do for you?'' He asked. Link knew exactly what he needed and came for. He pointed at a wooden shield on the bottom shelf on the right. ''The Deku Shield, eh? No problem, no problem. That'll be 40 rupees, young man.'' Taking out his bag, Link opened it and started to count his rupees. He probably had enough now. He placed down two red rupees on the counter that was worth each 20 rupees. ''Thank you, young man. Here you go, have fun with it.'' The owner handed the shield to Link and he equipped it on his back right away. Now he looked like a real hero! And now it was time to show it off to Mido to finally meet the Great Deku Tree.

As expected, Mido still stood there blocking the way. But now Link had a sword and shield so the fairy boy had to let him pass! ''Hold up!'' Mido right away made Link stop. ''What had I said to you? Before you can pass you need a- Eh, what's this? You... You have a Deku Shield, I see... and what's THAT?! Is that the Kokiri Sword?! GOOD GRIEF!'' Mido looked very annoyed - more than ever. ''I can't believe it...'' He muttered under his breath, hands placed on his waist in annoyance. ''Well, even with all that stuff a wimp is still a wimp!'' He pointed with a finger at Link to let him exactly know who he was talking about. ''I, the great Mido will never accept you as one of us. Shoot! How did you get to be the favorite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree? Just go.'' Mido grumbled pretty loudly and stepped aside for Link to finally let him go through.

The Great Deku Tree wasn't far from here on. ''Let's go, Link!'' Navi said to the young hero and Link nodded his head. There was one thing Link wasn't prepared for as he walked through the path to the Great Deku Tree. Out of nowhere blue plants grew out of the ground with sharp teeth, aiming their heads at Link. The boy got startled, tripping over his feet and stumbling back. He fell on his butt, sitting in the grass with fear in his eyes. ''Watch out! These are Deku Baba, it'll hurt if they touch you!'' Navi warned the boy. The plants couldn't walk and were stuck to one place, but one of them reached forward again to bite Link. Link quickly crawled back, that was pretty close. In this situation, he had no idea what to do. He hadn't expected any monsters to be here! A forest that was so peaceful and filled with joy was now filled with dangerous and murderous plants. What else was there up ahead? ''Link!'' Navi called to get him out of his thoughts. There was no other choice. Up ahead was the Great Deku Tree and Link had to go there. With trembling fingers, he reached for his sword on his back. His arms were shaking, holding a firm grip on the handle of the small sword and he took in a deep breath.

''Hi...'' Link took a step forward, raising the sword above his head. ''...Hiyaah!'' He yelled and jumped to slice the monster in half. The plant let out a cry as it got sliced in half by the Kokiri sword. It was defeated. Breathing heavily, Link stared down with wide eyes to the blade of the sword. That had been very scary. At first, Link had thought this was going to be fun, but the reality was so much different. There wasn't much time for Link to think as Navi called out a 'watch out!' to him. The other plant that was still alive tried to attack Link. It was a quick reaction, Link spun with his sword and right away cut the other plant in half too which let out the same cry as its congener. Thank God that was over. Hopefully, no more monsters laid up ahead, but all Link could do was wait and see...

''Great Deku Tree, I'm back!'' Navi called out as they both finally reached the place. It was an open place in the forest, a large tree standing. The tree looked like it had a face and a mustache.

''Oh, Navi... Thou hast returned... Link... Welcome...'' The Great Deku Tree spoke slowly. ''Listen carefully to what I, the Deku Tree, am about to tell thee... Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares... As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive of it... Verily thou hast felt it... Link... The time has come to test thy courage... I have been cursed... I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage... Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?'' Link seemed to be a little bit unsure about this all at first, looking at Navi who bounced up and down a little to tell Link 'yes'. She would, of course, help Link through this. Looking back at the Great Deku Tree, Link nodded his head to tell he indeed had enough courage to do this. ''Then enter, brave Link, and thou too, Navi...'' A door opened from the tree what looked like to present the Great Deku Tree's mouth. ''Navi the Fairy, thou must aid Link... And Link... When Navi speaks, listen well to her words of wisdom...''

It was time to enter the Deku Tree. Link didn't enter just yet, staring up to the large tree. ''Oh, Great Deku Tree, Link and I will do our best to save you!'' Navi said. ''Link, let's go!'' Link nodded his head to Navi and ran towards the Great Deku Tree's mouth to enter inside. A whole new adventure was about to begin.


	2. Entering the Great Deku Tree

It was a little strange to be inside of a tree. It was huge inside. There was a first floor that could be reached through climbing up a ladder on the left. Link felt that it wasn't going to be easy. One step and a few Deku Baba already showed up. This time Link didn't fear them. There was one close to the ladder Link had to climb and he easily cut the plant in half with his Kokiri sword. After the Deku Baba had died, he put his sword away to be able to climb up the ladder to the first floor. It was a little high. Link ran forward, spotting a gap between his side and the one he had to cross. He paused, taking a step back to be able to make a far jump. That wasn't so hard. He walked further and he stumbled upon a wall that looked like you could climb. Without hesitation, he placed his hands on the vines that were there to hold on. He put his feet on the vines to slowly climb up. What Link hadn't seen yet was a spider with a skull on its body sitting not far away from him. Looking over, he noticed the evil-looking thing walking over to him. ''Ahh-'' Link was already a few steps from the ground and he tried to reach for his sword to make it back off, as much as the vines were strong holding onto it with only one hand wasn't a very smart idea... The spider made a fast movement and hit the boy, causing him to fall on the ground on his back, hitting his head.

''Link! Are you okay?!'' The fairy worriedly asked. Link groaned, sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. That hurt a lot. ''I wanted to warn you, but I was too slow! It's best not to climb up until we've defeated these Skulltula, but how... with your sword, we can't hit it. Hopefully, we can find anything useful along the way!'' It was a shame that they couldn't go up, but Navi was right. Link pushed his green hat back right in place on his head and crawled back up on his feet. ''Let's go this way instead.'' Navi pointed out to go follow the path they were on now. After dusting off his behind with his hands, Link ran further.

There was another gap he had to jump over to reach the other side. Right in front of him was a door. ''Let's go inside, Link.'' Navi said and it automatically opened once standing in front of it. Bars fell down behind Link, as if it was a trap. In the middle of the room was a plant jumping out from its hidden spot. It right away shot Deku nuts towards the blond. ''Watch out!'' Navi warned. Link jumped aside quickly to dodge it, but it wouldn't quit shooting. ''Use your shield!'' Navi instructed. Grabbing his wooden shield, Link held it up in front of him. A Deku nut hit the shield and it bounced right back to the monster shooting at them. It got hit by its very own attack. The monster dug back deep into the ground, making itself hide. The bars on the doors disappeared. ''I think you did it, Link. Let's go further.'' Navi told him.

They walked up to the second door, arriving in a place where a large chest was on the other side of the room. There were two options: jump down and climb up the wall through vines or use a rock to get there quicker. Link seemed to be thinking about which path he would choose. The quicker the better of course... or was it? Link took a step back to be able to make a sprint. He felt the rock move, feeling it was about to break apart how fragile it was. It had him by surprise, he could only move forward just in time. The rock fell apart into a thousand pieces. Link hung on the edge of where the chest was with two hands. The blond groaned, pulling himself up with all his strength. He sat down on the edge once up there. That was close. ''No time to rest!'' Navi flew towards the treasure chest. ''We need to open this up.'' She said, bouncing up and down above the treasure chest in excitement. With a small sigh from being a little bit out of breath, Link stood back up on his feet and walked to the large chest that was waiting for him to be opened.

He wondered what was inside... He had to dig in deep, feet hanging off the ground from leaning over as he tried to reach for what was inside. He grabbed it and pulled out a nice slingshot. ''What did you find? A fairy slingshot! Great! That's nice work, Link!'' Navi complimented the young boy, who nodded at her with a proud smile. ''Let's go back, but oh, uh... I don't see a way...'' Navi said as the rock laid on the floor in pieces. There were no vines to climb on either to go back up. Link looked around too but didn't see anything as well. ''Oh! Look!'' Behind a large spiderweb, something hidden was up against the roof. ''Something is hanging up there. It looks like an old ladder!'' Navi was right. Link already had an idea to get it down. He grabbed his new slingshot, closing one eye to focus on where he needed to aim at. With a Deku seed, he shot at the ladder to make it fall down. It worked. The two of them shared a proud look at each other with how the plan had worked. Link jumped down from his spot and climbed up the ladder to get out of the room.

With this slingshot, they could bring those Skulltula down. Aiming at them wasn't that easy, Link even had missed a few times. Once the climbable wall was cleared, Link made his way up to the second floor. This tree was higher than expected.

The second floor was round. There wasn't much here it seemed... Link did notice a large Skulltula hanging from the ceiling. Grabbing his slingshot, Link tried to aim at it. Unfortunately, the Skulltula didn't get any damage. From the shot the monster went down, swaying back and forth in a threatening manner. If his slingshot didn't work then maybe something else would. He put his slingshot away, only to grab for his sword instead. He held his sword in front of him and hit the Skulltula's skull, but that didn't seem to work either. ''It doesn't work, Link! The skull works like a shield for them, it seems. Try to aim for their soft bellies instead, that's their weak spot.'' Weak spot, right... but the Skulltula didn't seem to budge, so how was he able to hit the weak spot? It required patience, it seemed. Suddenly the Skulltula turned around, showing off its belly. ''Now!'' Navi announced and Link stabbed against it with his sword. It took two hits for the Skulltula to die, but it had worked.

The two wondered where to go next. As far as Link could see there wasn't much on this floor, does it mean they had to go down instead? Step by step Link made his way to the edge of what the big Skulltula was blocking, he looked down and saw a large spiderweb on the floor. He had to squint his eyes for this, but it looked like it was covering something. Were they supposed to go through there? Link just noticed how high the second floor was, almost feeling a little dizzy. He carefully stepped back, afraid to fall down. ''Did you see anything, Link?'' Navi asked him. Link pointed down at the web down on the ground. ''Do you think we have to go through there? Ok!'' Navi flew to the edge. ''Let's go.'' Staring at his fairy, Link wondered what she was trying to do. Was she expecting him to jump off the cliff or something? ''What are you waiting for? Come! You want to go through the web, right? We probably have to break it somehow and I believe jumping down is best!'' There was a bit of a surprised look on the young hero's face. So, he was right about what Navi wanted him to do. Stepping back, Link shook his head. There was no way he could jump down from there; it was way too dangerous ''C'mon!'' The tiny fairy flew back to Link, grabbing the tip of his green hat to pull and tug him to the edge. ''You're Hyrule's new hero, you can't be afraid of a little jump!'' Navi was right in a way, but Link felt it was too dangerous still and not only that: going through a spider web would be sticky and gross. He swatted Navi off his hat as he walked up to the edge, looking down. He gulped. It really was high. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stepped back once more, but only to make a good sprint to jump off the edge.

''Whaaaaaah!'' With a rush, the boy fell down through the large spider web covering a large hole. When the bottom was reached, Link had fallen down on his butt in the water. It wasn't really a soft landing, he must say. With an uncomfortable look on his face, he tried to dry his behind by wiping at it with his hands. He lifted his feet up too to shake off any water that had gotten in his brown boots. It felt useless to shake them dry with how most of this place was water. Looking around, Link had no idea where to go. He looked up to where he had fallen down from, he really did come from high up. He saw a hole on the right, but there were bars placed in front of it to make it impossible to go through. Link did place his hands on the iron bars to try and open it somehow, but it truly wasn't possible. He tried to see what was behind it, but it was pitch black. Not even the torch that was lightning up the underground room helped.

It was no use, it almost looked like that they were stuck. Link looked around the room. There was mostly water and lots of spider webs sticking against the walls. Looking a little better, behind one of the spider webs there was a door hidden. Removing it by hand wouldn't work and it would only stick to Link's hands. There must be a way to remove it. Thinking deeply, Link got inspired by the burning torch. Along the way, he had picked up a Deku stick that could maybe come in handy now. Grabbing it, he took a look at the long stick and walked up to the torch to let a fire burn on top of it to make it his very own torch. He had to cross the water to get to the spider web. Carefully, he held the torch up as high as possible as he walked through the water to not let the fire go out. He had to climb up to get out, managing to pull himself up with one hand. With the stick, he let the fire touch the white, sticky spider web which easily burnt down and the door was available to use.

''Whoah!'' Navi made a chiming noise in excitement. ''How did you notice, Link? Well done! You're so smart!'' Navi complimented him. Link got a little bit overwhelmed by her compliments and laughed a little nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. It was just something that came to mind. ''Now we can go further,'' Navi said and flew to the door. ''Let's go!''

The first thing behind the door was one of those monsters that spit Deku nuts towards their enemies. Link knew this trick by now. Quickly he grabbed his shield, shielding himself from the nut hitting him and made the enemy's attack bounce back to let the monster get hit by its very own attack. The monster jumped up in surprise, trembling as it tried to run away, but Link managed to corner it. ''P-Please, forgive me, master! I'll never do it again!'' It spoke with fear in its voice. ''If you spare me, I will tell you a little secret. You will never beat my brothers up ahead unless you punish them in the right order. The order is... 2, 3, 1. Twenty-three is number one! Do you think I am a traitor?'' With that, the monster hopped away as quickly as it could to hide back in its hiding spot.

In front of them was a door that was closed by bars. There was something like an eye above it which seemed to work as a switch for the door. Link grabbed his slingshot, aiming at it with a seed to hit the eye. The eye closed and the bars went up to unlock the door and opened. This all looked like puzzles that needed to get solved.

The next room had water. It was obvious to Link that he needed to cross it somehow. There was something floating in the water they could use to cross with, but that didn't look safe with a swirling bar with spikes hanging right above it. Swimming all the way to the other side didn't look like a good idea with how it was too high to climb on land from inside the water. Standing on the edge, Link inspected the room around, he took a good look inside the clear water and noticed something like a switch on the bottom. It would mean that his just dried-up clothes would be soaked all over again... With a displeased noise, Link jumped in the water. He held his breath in to swim all the way down to the switch. He had to use all his strength to push it with both of hands with how the water would make him go float back up. It did work and the water started to sink down. As fast as he could, he moved back up to gasp for some air. He swam back to the land where he had jumped off and hopped to the floating platform that was in the water. It brought him to the other side of it, getting on his knees just in case and not trying to get stabbed through the head by those dangerous spikes above him.

He jumped off the platform and once he reached the other side, he was eye to eye with a large Skulltula. ''Hiyaa!'' In reflex, the blond just hit its thick skull, forgetting that was useless and got hit by its threatening way of swinging back and forth. Link held his shield up in front of himself, waiting for the Skulltula this time to turn around to aim for its weak spot. It took two hits again to take it down. Behind the Skulltula, there was a block that could be pushed. ''Hey! Link, maybe we could try pushing it and climb it. It looks useful!'' Navi suggested. It indeed didn't sound too bad to give it a try. Standing behind the block, Link tried to push the heavy thing. He needed to use all of his strength to do this until it couldn't budge anymore. He needed to make a jump to be able to climb on the block, noticing it was needed to get to the next door.

This place felt like it was crowded with Skulltulas. It shouldn't be much of a surprise either with all those sticky spiderwebs sticking to the ceiling and walls. Yet again Link had to defeat a Skulltula and a few Deku Babas that were trying to bite at Link's legs. He found a new stick that one of the Deku Babas left after Link had killed it and had spotted already a spiderweb that was blocking the way. There was a torch burning to give the room light and with the Deku stick, he again made his very own torch. The young hero walked up to the spider web to burn it down, revealing a very tight gap in the wall he could fit through. It was going to be a very tight fit. Link got on his hands and knees as he slowly crawled through the gap in the wall, ending up getting to the other side which he apparently already had been in before. ''Oh, look! We're on the other side from the hole we fell through!'' Navi said.

The end must be near now, Link thought to himself. They had wandered around in here for quite some time now. He noticed a spider web on the floor of which he knew that had to get burned down. For that he needed fire. The torch was on the other side, but Link saw he wouldn't be able to climb back up once jumping off. ''Watch out!'' Navi warned when a Deku Baba aimed for Link, gnawing at his leg. ''Ahh-'' Link made a noise in pain, falling back on the ground and tried to kick the monster off him. Its 'teeth' were sharp. Link reached for his sword on his back, chopping the head off to make it at least stop chomping his leg off. It was bleeding some, a deep scratch and bite marks in it. ''Link, are you okay?'' Navi asked him. Link nodded, yet his expression showed he was still in pain. He crawled up slowly, putting his sword away. He had to go on despite the pain.

There was a block that could be pushed down and it gave the young hero an idea. He could use it to get to the torch and go back up again. He limped a little, because of the pain stinging. He pushed the heavy block until it fell in the water. Before he went further, he picked a stick up. He jumped down, landing in the water and rinsing the blood off his leg at the same time while he was in it. He climbed up to the torch, lighting his stick and went back up using the block to burn down the large spider web that was covering another hole. Just how deep did this place go? He threw the burning stick on top of it to make the spider web burn down. Jumping down, Link yet again landed in the water. His clothes would never get dry this way! He swam to land, right away he got greeted by another three nut-shooting monsters.

These were probably the brothers from that other monster. What was the code again? 2, 3, 1, twenty-three is number one! Link grabbed his shield, standing in front of the first monster on the right. It shot its nut at Link, it bounced against the shield and hit the monster. The enemy got paralyzed and didn't move. Next on was the one next to the paralyzed monster, doing the same thing with that one and last was the one all the way on the left. ''Ah! How did you know our secret?!'' The enemy spoke. ''How irritating! But you'll never be able to defeat our Queen Gohma. Never!''

A boss battle, huh? It probably was going to be a lot tougher than the monsters he had been fighting so far. Behind this door, this Queen Gohma would be waiting. ''Are you ready?'' Navi asked the boy. Link grabbed his sword in one hand, holding his shield in his other one. He bravely nodded to his fairy. If this is what it takes to save the Deku Tree then Link would be prepared. The door opened and Link stepped inside. It was pretty dark. The door fell with a loud echoing noise, which had Link a little startled. There was no way back out anymore. He took a few steps back, walking more into the place.

On the roof, a large eyeball was watching the young hero enter. Like a spider, it crawled on the roof, jumping down on the ground not far away from Link. The boy got surprised by the large creature. This one was different from all the Skulltulas he had seen. This was Queen Gohma. It made a roaring noise as it walked on its four, long legs. It walked after Link as the boy tried to run away from it. It was huge! Close combat wouldn't do, so Link grabbed his slingshot to shoot at it. Any time a seed hit Gohma it would close its eye. It had the young hero pretty irritated, why didn't it work? When Link was far enough, Gohma crawled up the wall and crawled on the roof instead. Link followed its movements. ''Link, you should wait until its eye is red! Then shoot at it.'' Navi said the boy. It required patience, but Link did as suggested. Slowly its eye turned a deep red color, making the eye vulnerable. This gave Link the opportunity to damage Gohma. He shot the seed at the monster, making it scream in pain and fell with a large smash on the ground. Its eye twitched in a paralyzed manner. With his sword, Link ran towards the paralyzed creature and stabbed it repeatedly in the eye. A rush of adrenaline went through the boy's body. He only followed his instinct now to get this over with.

''Ha! Ya! Haaaa! Hiya!'' The eye turned back to normal and Gohma crawled back up on its feet to move back up the wall and the roof. Link was panting, but the fight was not over yet. He knew what to do now. He waited again for the eye to turn a deep red, shooting with his slingshot at it to make it fall down again. ''Haaa!'' Link yelled as he ran towards it with his sword in his hand, stabbing over and over again and making the monster screech in pain. He used both his hands for the last stab, pushing it all the way through its eye. It had a big effect. A high screech left Queen Gohma, its body giving off steam as it started to fall apart into pieces. The boss was defeated.

The boy was breathing heavily, hands trembling after he had dropped his sword on the floor. It had been a rough time, but he had done it. He just won his very first boss fight. ''Link! You've done it!'' Navi flew right in front of his face. ''You've beaten the boss, you have saved the Great Deku Tree!'' It still all was a little unbelievable for Link to take in, but he nodded slowly with a small smile on his lips. He didn't know how to feel right now; it was all so overwhelming. Navi bumped against his cheek as if she was giving him a hug. ''I am proud of you, Link.'' There was a warm feeling inside of Link's chest at the compliment and gesture. Next to them, a blue light appeared. It was an exit to go back outside. ''Let's go... Link. Let's go see the Great Deku Tree.'' The boy nodded, picked up his sword and glanced at the defeated pile of hardened skin that laid on the ground that once was Queen Gohma.

**Obtained items**:  
\- Fairy Slingshot


	3. Goodbye, Great Deku Tree

''Well done, Link...''

They arrived back outside in Kokiri forest, back to meeting up with the Great Deku Tree as all evil inside of the magical tree had been destroyed. ''Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage... I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes...''

''Link has been very brave, Great Deku Tree!'' Navi proudly told him. ''He was brave for you!''

''I can tell, Navi... Now, I have yet more to tell ye... wouldst thou listen...'' A nod came from Link in response, willing to hear what the Great Deku Tree had to tell him. ''Now...listen carefully... A wicked man of the desert had cast this dreadful curse upon me...'' The boy sat down in the grass as he was willing to listen to the story the Great Deku Tree had to tell him. ''This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule... For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods...''

''Before time, before spirits and life existed... Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule... Din, the goddess of power... Nayru, the goddess of wisdom... Farore, the goddess of courage... Din... With her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth. Nayru... Poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore... With her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law. The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm.''

''Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce... Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the Sacred Realm of legend... That evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped my power... Because of that curse, my end is nigh...'' That had both Link and Navi surprised. Link's eyes widened at such words, crawling up as quick as he could to stand on his feet. ''Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started...'' In pure shock, Link shook his head. No... this couldn't be true! The Great Deku Tree couldn't be dying! ''Yes, I will pass away soon... But do not grieve for me...'' It was easier said than done, Link felt tears coming up in his eyes but blinked them away the best he could. The protector of their forest was about to die, this couldn't be happening! ''I have been able to tell you of these important matters... This is Hyrule's final... hope...''

''No!'' Navi flew towards the Great Deku Tree, desperately and not being able to accept this. ''Great Deku Tree... please, no! You can't- this can't be!'' Link watched her fly around in despair. ''The forest- what about the forest, the fairy children, ME?'' This was too cruel, too sudden. ''You're... our... Great Deku Tree, you can't just die...''

''I'm sorry... Navi...'' He truly was, but it was as it is. ''Link... Go now... to Hyrule castle... There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny... Take this stone with you. The stone that man wanted so much, that he cast the curse upon me...'' In the air, a green light a beautiful stone appeared and it flew in Link's hands. It was green with gold, shiny too. ''This is the Kokiri's Emerald... This is the Spiritual Stone of the forest... Please protect it... The future depends upon thee, Link... Thou art... courageous... Navi the fairy... Help Link to carry out my will... I entreat ye... Navi... Good...bye...''

''NO!'' Navi yelled loudly, flying around the Deku Tree that had died. Link tried to reach for Navi with his hand, but she had fled away closer to the Great Deku Tree. Seeing his new friend in so much sadness hurt the young hero. Not only that but for himself, this was painful too. The Great Deku Tree... their protector, their_ father_. Something like a very cold wind breezed through the air, leaves losing their green colors as the Great Deku Tree passed away. It was over... Navi had no other choice but to accept this new part of life. She stared at the Great Deku Tree for a very long time. ''Good-bye... Great Deku Tree...'' The fairy said, flying down to pick up a single flower she saw and placed it next to the Deku Tree. ''I will never forget you.'' Link stepped up to the fairy, having wiped a few tears that had rolled down his cheeks away. ''We must go, Link... Let's go to Hyrule Castle.'' There really was no time to grieve. Link nodded, picking up the same flower as Navi had and placed it next to hers with the Deku Tree. It was their way of goodbye. Link turned around to leave the place. Navi followed but hesitated. She flew back for a moment, but it was pointless. She went after Link; it was time to leave the Great Deku Tree forever.

They reached back to the forest. Mido had heard it, everyone already knew about it. ''Link!'' He yelled at him in an angry voice, stomping up to him. ''What did you do, what have you done?! The Great Deku Tree... did he... die? How could you do a thing like that?! It's all your fault!'' Mido angrily yelled. Link took a step back, shaking his head. It wasn't his fault! He only had tried to save the Great Deku Tree, he had never meant to kill him! Mido grabbed Link's green tunic, pushing the boy against the wall in anger. ''I've never liked you... I will never accept you as one of us, especially after this. What would Saria say? You're a murderer!'' Mido had it all wrong, Link truly felt just as bad and emotional as everyone else. ''Hold your excuses.'' He hissed, shoving the blond once more against the wall before letting go of him. ''Don't you dare to think that I will ever forgive you for this, fake fairy boy.'' With that, the boss of the fairies walked away.

''Don't listen to him, Link.'' Navi tried to reassure him as Link stared down at his feet in sadness and rubbed against his chest where Mido had pushed him. ''It's not your fault... I know. I am sure Saria will believe you too. You know how Mido is to you...'' A big, mean bully. ''You've done what you could, Link. There is nothing else you can do except to fulfill the Great Deku Tree's will.'' The young hero looked up to his friend, nodding and rubbing his face with a hand. It was just too sad that they had lost an important creature in their life. Would the Kokiri forest ever be the same without the Great Deku Tree? ''Let's pick up what you need and we will go to the castle, okay?'' Link nodded. Navi was all right about this. He walked to his tree house to find things that might be useful on the way, but he didn't have much.

It was time to leave Kokiri forest. A forest that was known as a happy place with the fairies playing music together. Link was going to miss this place. He got to the exit of the forest, taking in a deep breath. He looked behind him. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. He entered the large tree trunk, walking over a bridge.

''Oh, you're leaving...'' A voice behind him spoke. A female's voice. Link paused and turned around, surprised somewhat to see Saria standing on the side of the bridge. They shared a look before Link slowly walked up to her. Saying goodbye to her was going to be hard for him, he knew. ''I knew that you would leave the forest someday, Link...'' There was a sad tone in Saria's voice. ''Because you are different from me and my friends...'' Link always had been different from all the other fairy children. He had been the only one without a guardian fairy. ''But that's okay because we'll be friends forever... won't we?'' Link nodded his head quickly. Of course, they would be friends forever. Saria smiled at that. She had something in her hands and showed it to Link. ''I want you to have this Fairy Ocarina. Please take good care of it.'' It was an instrument, a special instrument. It was played by the fairy children and now Saria gave it to Link as a memento. ''When you play my Ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit.'' Link stuffed the Fairy Ocarina in his pocket, nodding his head. He could never forget Saria; she was one of his closest friends. ''And Link...'' There was something he had to know, something that might bring the boy at ease. She too had heard about it and it was awful. ''I know you didn't do it. I know you did it to save him and us.'' She knows that Link was a good person. ''And I know you have to go now.'' She added, smiling sadly. ''But please visit whenever you can.'' She would truly miss him. ''Good-bye, Link.''

Two goodbyes in one day. His chest felt heavy with sadness and pain. Link took a few steps back, running away. He couldn't take it. Saria watched her friend leave their hometown. She could only hope and wait for his return someday...


	4. Link's Destiny

Stories told that Kokiri children would die once setting foot outside of the forest. Link stood inside the large tree trunk as if he was waiting for something. Right in front of him was the path to Hyrule field. The outside world looked far different already from his hometown. The sky was clearer, the sun was shining through white and thin clouds floating in the sky. The trees, however, weren't as green and filled with leaves as in the forest. They looked much sadder.

''What are you waiting for, Link? Let's go.'' Navi said as she noticed for how long they had been standing there. Link nodded slowly. He wasn't the one to believe those stories. He thought the Kokiri children were just scared to leave their protected place. Link knew Navi would be there to help him at all costs, too. He ran out of the tree trunk, ready for his new adventure.

Not far away from them, a large, brown owl was resting in a tree on clear day time. The owl made a sound as if calling for the young boy to come to him. ''Hoo hoot! Link... Look up here!'' Strangely enough, the owl seemed to know Link's name. ''Hoo... It appears that time has finally come for you to start your adventure! You will encounter many hardships ahead... That is your fate. Don't feel discouraged, even during the toughest times! Go straight this way and you will see Hyrule Castle. You will meet the princess there...'' Link wondered how this strange owl knew about him. He had never seen the animal before in Kokiri forest. ''Ah... yes. From your puzzled look on your face, I can tell you're wondering how I know your name. Hoo... The Great Deku Tree once told me that one day there would be a young boy leaving the forest for important matters. Well then... you must go now; I'll see you around. Hoot hoot hoot ho!'' The owl spread its large, brown wings and flew up in the sky to leave the new hero by himself.

Running further, Link entered a large open field. The wind breezed through his hair. Far up ahead laid the castle. Link had climbed up a hill to have a better view on it. That was where they had to go. Inside that castle, the princess could be found which he would meet soon enough. It was going to be a long walk still, Link knew. Link didn't know how much time already had passed from saving the Great Deku Tree and leaving the forest, but he noticed the sun was going under. Hopefully, they could reach the bridge in time before night time, but he highly doubted it... He would need to find a place to spend the night. The longer they would wait, the later they would arrive at the castle. Hopping down the hill, Link started his travel to Hyrule's castle.

His guess was right. The castle was too far away to reach it by now. He probably had walked a few more hours by now, how many he did not know. The sun was going under and it was growing darker and darker. Link already could see the bridge going up to make it impossible for trespassers to enter at night and other dangerous things. He had no choice but to look for shelter and spend the night somewhere. There was a thing Link did not know nor expected. Maybe this was why the Kokiri didn't leave the forest and especially not during the night. Out of nowhere from underneath the ground, something dug up. Link stopped his walking, stepping back in surprise. Something like a head - shaped in a skull popped up, boney hands pushing itself up from the ground. It was a Stalchild. It wasn't only one, more starting to dig their ways up from underneath the ground.

''Watch out, Link!'' Like zombies, they walked up to Link. The blond grabbed his sword and shield. Now he understood why people feared to go out at night. The Stalchilds swung their arms to attack the boy. Link swung with his own Kokiri sword to make them stay away, hiding behind his shield at the same time. It clearly wasn't safe to stay outside at night. Three Stalchilds were trying to corner the boy. Link ran away as fast as he could - luckily for him the enemies were pretty slow. It was too risky for him to attack them all at once, one of them surely would try to attack him if he didn't watch out. As he ran away, something even bigger dug up from the ground. A large Stalchild that was almost two feet bigger than the others tried to grab Link.

The boy stepped back as it stepped up to him. His arms were trembling, wooden shield rattling from the trembling. It reached with its hand to the fairy boy and Link only dodged it in time. He ran towards an entrance of a place, up against a small hill. The enemies still walked after him, but once out of sight, they didn't seem to care much for him anymore. Link hurried his way up, thinking they were after him still. He opened a door of what looked like a barn. He pushed the door closed behind him as fast as he could. Only then he felt safe.

He had no idea where he was until he heard a cow. ''Mooo!'' Link jumped in surprise at the sound, turning around. There were animals inside this place, filled with cows and horses. He tiptoed around to not make any animals afraid of him, but unfortunately, he stepped on a pitchfork causing it to clatter on the ground next to a small horse that looked very young. The horse got startled a lot, kicking with its feet. Link got pretty startled by his own action and by the horse. It had Link let out a startled yell and he walked away from the horse as fast as he could. His first time out of the forest absolutely didn't start great... Everything had been very tiring for him so far too. All the fighting, losing the Great Deku Tree, traveling his way now to the castle. Link found a large pile of hay somewhere far from the horse. The blond decided to just lay there and get some sleep, hopefully, tomorrow would be better...

It had been an awful night. Link was used to a much nicer bed. He got woken up by a chicken and the cows making lots of noise in the early morning. Some hay poked out of Link's blond hair, sticking to his clothes too. He dusted it off him, standing up and fixing his hat right on his head. He yawned, stretching his arms out. ''Good morning, Link!'' Navi greeted the still sleepy boy after coming out from underneath his hat where she had been resting. ''Are you ready to go further? We must reach the castle today!'' And now they had plenty of time to get there too.

The monsters were gone. The open field was normal again. The sun was shining bright, some birds flying in the air. ''Look!'' Navi bounced up and down in excitement. ''The castle, it's closer than we thought!'' Right across from where they had spent the night was the castle. The bridge was down as it would allow for people to enter it at day. This sure saved them some time. Clearly awake now, Link started to run with Navi flying as fast as she could to follow him. He stopped right in front of the large, wooden bridge to look up at the gate. This was Hyrule's Castle... He ran over the bridge to enter the place.

The first thing he reached was a busy market. There were many people buying or selling things, such as food, flowers or weird items. There were a few normal shops too. Some people were dancing to music that was played, some children were playing or running after dogs. It was such a lively place. Link honestly felt like an outsider; it was very noticeable that he came from the forest. He even felt some people staring at him. Navi hid inside Link's hat to hide from the people.

There was one little girl in a yellow dress with long brown hair standing all by herself. She didn't play like the other children, she seemed to be about Link's age. She noticed Link staring at her, giving him a kind smile. ''Hey, your clothes. They're different... You're not from around here, are you?'' Just as Link had guessed, it was very noticeable that he wasn't from this place. Link shook his head. ''Ohhh... You're a fairy boy from the forest! Now I see it. My name is Malon, nice to meet you! My dad owns Lon Lon Ranch. He went to the castle to deliver some milk and hasn't come back yet... I am waiting for him, but he takes so long.'' It sounded like she was waiting for quite some time now.

There wasn't much time for Link to stop and chit-chat with strangers. He had to meet the princess. The girl didn't seem to mind much that he didn't want to talk anymore. Although meeting the princess was important, Link couldn't resist the urge to look around at the market, especially not with the smell of food roaming through the air... Only then the boy realized just how hungry he had gotten from his journey. His stomach growled and he placed a hand on his stomach. The princess could maybe wait for a little longer, he wanted to have something to eat first.

There was a huge line for everything, which showed just how busy it was. Being so short wasn't funny either, Link couldn't see how far he stood in line. He jumped up and down behind the tall adults who blocked his view. It was useless. Link huffed, crossing his arms against his chest. This was going to take forever. But since he was so short, maybe it had its benefits. This brought Link an idea. He snuck out of line, getting on his knees to crawl through and slip past the people who were waiting in line. He got behind one person who was buying food, grinning to himself now that he had cut the long line. But not everybody was pleased with his idea. ''Ahem.'' Somebody cleared his throat behind Link. The boy turned around, facing an angry, tall man who grabbed Link by his tunic and pushed him out of line. Link stumbled over his feet by the action, his hat almost falling off his head. He should have expected this. With a huff that his plan had failed, Link pushed his hat back in place.

The wait was long. It was as if that line would never end. Link had given up and sat on a bench, letting out a deep sigh. His stomach still growled. The sun was about to go down and he hadn't been able to buy something to eat yet. He was absolutely starving by now. After a while when he looked up, he saw the line completely gone. The man behind the food stand was about to pack in his things to close for the day. Right away the boy jumped up from his seat and ran towards the man, waving with a hand to let him know he still had a customer. The boy pointed at some apples he'd like to buy, grabbing his money bag. The man flashed the boy a smile. ''These are two rupees each, boy. But I'll give you a little extra because you're last. You'll get a free apple from me along with it.'' The kind man said and handed two apples to Link. The boy smiled brightly at the seller, paying him two rupees for the one apple he had to pay for. In the end, he felt like a lucky guy.

He waved goodbye to the seller, walking over to the bench again to sit down. He eagerly ate the apple. Link poked his hat with a finger and Navi snuck out from underneath it, wondering what he wanted from her. The young hero lifted a small piece of apple he had cut with his Kokiri sword, handing it to the fairy. Fairies didn't exactly need food, but he felt that sharing would be the right thing to do. ''For me?'' Navi asked, surprised. Link nodded his head, leaving the piece resting in his hand palm. Navi flew towards it to eat it from there. ''Thank you!'' She appreciated the offer a lot.

It was late, but Link had to go meet the princess. He left the empty market to walk the path to the castle. He got to the entrance, but the gate, unfortunately, was closed. There was a guard standing next to it. ''Sorry, kiddo. No entrance allowed. Especially not little kids like you. Now, shoo.'' The man spoke, waving with a hand to shoo Link away like he was a cat. Frowning, Link walked away. He needed to speak to the princess, but it wasn't going to be the easy way. He needed to sneak inside the castle and get past the guards somehow...

There must be a way to get past the closed gate. Not far away from him, Link heard something like a singing tone. As he followed the sound, he spotted a girl standing. It was Malon. What was she doing here? ''Hey!'' Malon greeted as she stopped singing her song. ''Are you going to the castle, fairy boy? Would you mind finding my dad? He still hasn't returned. He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle. What a thing to do for an adult, haha!'' Malon laughed at her father's silly action. ''Oh yeah, if you'll look for him, I'll give this to you.'' She showed him a small egg. ''I have been incubating this egg very carefully. Please take good care of it.'' Link had no idea what he was supposed to do with this egg, but he took it from her just in case. There must be a reason as to why Malon gave him this egg. When their conversation had ended, Malon went back to humming her song.

Glancing around, Link looked for a way to get past the guards. He noticed a vine growing on the wall. He stepped up to it, placing his hands and feet on it to climb all the way up, now he had a nice view from high up to see where he had to go. Like this, he could at least get past the guard unnoticed. Yet he still had to be careful. Far across on him there was another guard standing above the gate. Link made sure to make himself smaller so he hopefully wouldn't see the young boy sneaking around. Link decided to jump off so that he would on the other side of the closed gate.

He was about to walk up straight ahead but quickly stopped as he saw two guards waiting. This truly wasn't going to be easy. He hid behind a rock to see where he could sneak past them. There was something like a hill he could climb up to. He got past the guards, needing to be on his own guard the whole time and could only pray that they wouldn't see him. He kept himself low. Link needs to consider himself lucky maybe that he was wearing a green tunic, it was the perfect cover in the grass. He got to a pretty high wall. It had rocks they could be used for climbing. He climbed all the way up, noticing from far two guards guarding the entrance to the castle. Silly them, they had no idea the boy got past them! Link jumped down, landing in water and letting the strong flow take him away. With an uncomfortable expression on his face, Link climbed out of the water once he got completely past all the guards. His clothes once again were soaking wet...

With his hands, the boy pushed himself out of the water. He pulled his boots off to empty them, they were soaking wet from the inside. Link hoped the sun could dry him up, he hadn't noticed it was already this early in the morning now. The whole night he had been up to sneak past the guards. Just as the sun raised up, the egg Link had gotten from Malon started to hatch. A cucco hatched out from it. Link still had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. He put his boots back on, standing up. Not far from him there was a sleeping man. He was pretty big and had a mustache. Link assumed this was Malon's father because he was asleep. The man seemed to be mumbling some inaudible things in his sleep. Only then it hit him as to why Malon had handed him the chicken. Placing the chicken down, it started to make a loud noise. Its feathers flew around as it jumped up and down.

''U-Uwoooa- H-Huh? What in tarnation!'' The man got startled by the cucco, woke up abruptly and looked around himself. ''Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?'' It was clear that Malon's father didn't appreciate it that his slumber got interrupted. The man then noticed Link standing. ''Hello and who might you be?'' His voice still sounded very tired. ''Yep, I'm Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch. I went to the castle to deliver some milk, but I sat down here to get some rest and I guess I fell asleep...'' The man excused. ''What?! Malon was looking for me? I'm gonna catch it from her now!'' The man seemed to be a little worried to get scolded by his own daughter. ''I messed up bad, leaving Malon behind to wait for me! She's really going to let me have it!'' As fast as he could, Talon started to run away to get back to his daughter who had been waiting for him all night.

''What a parent!'' Navi got out from underneath Link's head. ''Leaving his daughter alone like that. But, hey! Look, there seems to be an entrance there. You will probably fit through that. Let's give it a try!'' Across from them, there was a mini waterfall with a small entrance leading to the castle. It was too far and high to jump right away to it. They would need some help. The boy looked around and noticed a few wooden boxes with a cow picture on it. The boxes must be the milk Talon delivered. He could use these and stand on them. He tried to pick one of them up, but it was way too heavy to carry it. Panting, Link decided to stand behind it instead and push it all the way until it fell in the water. One wasn't enough. He did the same for the other box, placing it on top of the other box. Now it was high enough to jump from there to the other side. It would require getting wet knees, but he couldn't complain. He crawled inside, Navi hiding under his hat. They were close now...

Inside, it almost looked like a mini garden. Link hid behind a wall, to carefully look around. There were guards walking around everywhere, he needed to be careful. They seemed to be walking in circles, all he needed to do was get past them without getting seen. Whenever the guards would stop and face Link with his back, the boy would rush to the other side, only to hide behind a wall or hedge. Again, he was lucky to be wearing green, it was a great disguise. Inside there were more guards which meant the princess must be very close now.

The end was in sight. He waited for the last two guards to not pay attention before rushing to the entrance of where the princess was. And there she stood in the courtyard. A girl who seemed to be about Link's height and age stood with her back towards the young hero. She didn't seem to notice anything. Startled, the princess turned around when she felt something was behind her. She covered her mouth in surprise. ''Ah! Who?!'' She asked as she saw the boy in green. ''Who are you?'' She repeated. ''How did you get past the guards?'' Nobody could ever get past them. ''Oh, what's that?'' The princess asked as she saw Navi flying above Link's head. ''Is that...a fairy? Then, are you... Are you from the forest?'' Her surprised and worried look changed into a more excited one. She put her hands together in a hopeful manner. ''Then... then... you wouldn't happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you? That green and shiny stone... Do you have it?''

Of course, the boy had it with him. Link nodded his head. The princess laughed at what she had hoped was true. ''Just as I thought!'' She felt relief. ''I had a dream... In the dream, dark stone clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule. But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground. The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy. I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest. Yes, I thought you might be the one.'' The princess told Link about her dream; it felt a lot like something Link had been dreaming about too not long ago. ''Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.'' She gave a bow with her head in greeting. ''What is your name?''

Link told her his name; Navi rested on top of Link's hat. The boy gave a bow with his own head back to be polite. ''Link... Strange... it sounds somehow... familiar. Okay then, Link. I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone.'' Link had no intention of telling others about this. He nodded his head to promise he would keep it a secret. ''The legend goes like this...'' Zelda started, looking Link straight in the eyes to have his full attention.

''The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule. The power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity... If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil... That is what has been told... So, the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.''

''That's right... The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And in order to the door, it is said that you need to collect three Spiritual Stones. And another thing you need is the treasure that the Royal Family keeps along with this legend... The Ocarina of Time!'' Zelda explained, telling her story to Link and hoping he understood everything. ''Did you understand well the story that I just told you?'' The princess asked. The young hero nodded his head. It was a lot of information to take in, but he did understand it.

''That's great! I forgot to tell you...'' The princess glanced behind her, revealing a small window. ''I was spying through this window just now... The other element from my dream... the dark clouds... I believe they symbolize that man in there. You can take a look if you'd like.'' She had made room for the boy to take a look through it. Link stepped up to it, looking through the window and saw a large man walking up who knelt down on a blue carpet. He had red hair and a dark skin tone wearing heavy armor. ''Can you see the man with the evil eyes? That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream... They must symbolize that man!'' The man behind the window seemed to be noticing that someone was looking at him, his gaze meeting Link's. The boy quickly stepped back, feeling caught. ''What happened? Did he see you?'' The princess asked the boy in green. ''Don't worry.'' She reassured him. ''He doesn't have any idea what we're planning... yet!'' It was a big secret plan she had in mind.

''I have told my father about my dream... However, he didn't believe it was a prophecy... But... I can see that man's evil intentions!'' There was a worried look on Zelda's face. ''What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And he wants to conquer Hyrule... no, the entire world!'' The princess faced Link, fear and worry in her blue eyes. ''Link... now you and I are the only ones who can protect Hyrule. Please!'' Anyone would call the princess crazy for this. Her father had all the right not to believe her because there was no proof if this man truly was evil or not. But since Link had the same dream as her, he believed her. The boy nodded, giving a thumb up to let her know he was prepared to help her. The girl laughed in relief, smiling happily at the boy's will in helping her. ''Thank you!'' However, her expression faltered back to a sad and worried one. ''I... I am afraid... I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power! But it's fortunate that you have come. We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it!'' She bravely spoke. ''You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does and then defeat him!'' It sounded like a good plan. ''One more thing...'' Zelda almost forgot. She quickly wrote down something on paper, making a letter with her autograph on it. ''Take this letter with you, I am sure it will be helpful to you.'' She handed Link the envelope who took it in his hands and put it in his pocket. ''I wish you the best of luck.'' With a nod, Link walked away.

At the exit there stood a tall woman waiting for Link. She had silver hair, tied back in a small ponytail. She was wearing armor, she looked very strong. ''I am Impa of the Sheikahs. I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything is exactly as the Princess foretold.'' The woman had a pretty deep voice. ''You are a courageous boy... You are heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you?'' She asked him, seeming to know well what was going on. ''My role in the Princess's dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest. This is an ancient melody passed down by the Royal Family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda as a lullaby ever since she was a baby... There is mysterious power in these notes. Now listen carefully...'' With her two fingers, Impa placed it against her lips. She started to whistle against them, using her fingers as an instrument to demonstrate the song to Link. Luckily for the boy, he had a Fairy Ocarina received from Saria when he left the forest. He grabbed it to copy Impa's melody. He placed the ocarina against his mouth, blowing against the small holes it had to create a melody. The song was surprisingly easy to play as it wasn't hard to forget. ''If the castle soldiers find you, there will be trouble. Let me lead you out of the castle.'' Impa said and brought the boy back outside without getting seen by the guards.

Not much later they stood outside of the castle, right in front of the bridge. ''You brave lad... We must protect this beautiful land of Hyrule! Take a good look at that mountain. That is Death Mountain, home of the Gorons, they hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire.'' Up ahead, far away, there was a huge mountain resting. It was going to be a big climb. ''At the foot of Death Mountain, you will my village, Kakariko. That is where I was born and raised. You should talk to some of the villagers there before you go up Death Mountain. Remember, the song I just taught you has some mysterious power. Only Royal Family members are allowed to learn this song. It will help to prove your connection with the Royal Family. The Princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the stones. All right. We're counting on you!'' Impa grabbed something, throwing it on the ground and disappeared in a flash - only smoke was left. Link got a little startled by the sound, looking around to see where she had gone to. She was nowhere to be seen.

A new adventure laid up ahead. Link wondered what kind of people the Gorons were, what evilness he would encounter next. But most importantly of all what that man Ganondorf was up to. What did he want from the king, why did he and Zelda have the same dream? It felt all so weird. Would he really be able to save Hyrule? He wondered what Saria would say about this...


	5. Lost Woods

Kakariko village was just around the corner, it wasn't far away from the castle at all. It only required walking over a small bridge that was built to cross a river. Impa had told Link to go there to go up Death Mountain. The name alone didn't sound too promising, but it was where the Gorons lived who guarded the Spiritual Stone of Fire. Link made his way to the village, climbing up the stairs that led up to the place.

Kakariko village wasn't a very big town. It looked cozy, yet it was filled with people. People working, farming, selling things. A whole lot. ''Hurry, chop chop!'' A man called, clapping loudly in his hands. ''We've got more to do! We don't have all day!'' The man was shouting towards a few men who were carrying heavy iron bars. It had Link wonder what they were building. ''You're all so useless, C'mon!''

There were more stairs to climb. Link passed a few houses as he climbed up the stairs, walking up to a closed gate with a guard standing right next to it. ''The road is closed beyond this point!'' The guard called over to the young boy. ''Can't you read the sign over there? Oh, wait... I see. You're just a kid and you can't read yet. Haha!'' It was obvious that this guard was mocking the young hero. Link frowned a bit, making a huffing noise at the guard was making fun of him. Link was perfectly capable of reading things; he just hadn't noticed the sign! Neither he got any chance at all to do it. Link shot the guard a look before walking up to the sign. 'No passage without a Royal Decree' the sign reads. A Royal Decree... The Princess had given a letter to him, perhaps he could use that! He walked back up to the guard, fishing the envelope out of his pockets to hand it over to the mean guard. ''What's this?'' The man looked down at Link. He snatched the envelope out of the boy's hand, opening it and taking the letter out. He held it up in front of his face to read it. ''This is... This is surely Princess Zelda's handwriting. Well, let's see... Hmm... 'This is Link. He is under my orders to save Hyrule'.'' The guard was quiet for a moment before bursting out in a burst of laughter. ''Wah-hahahahaha! What kind of funny game has our Princess come up with now? Okay, okay... You can go now. Just be careful, Mr. Hero.'' The guard laughed loudly once more as he called Link that name. A child saving Hyrule...what a joke! The man tapped with his spear on the ground, making the gate go open. ''By the way, Mr. Hero. If you're going to climb Death Mountain, you should get a proper shield. It is an active volcano, after all. If you go back to Hyrule Castle Town Market, you should check the Bazaar. They sell the shield you need there. Tell 'em I sent you and they should give you a special discount. If you think you're good to go already, don't worry about it.''

The shield Link owned was made of wood. If this volcano truly was so active it probably was absolute best to get a new one. Link didn't want to take the risk of his wooden Deku shield to get burn down in tiny pieces. The boy turned around to walk back down the stairs, pausing midway as the guard called after him for something. ''Wait! There is something I'd like to ask from you. A favor. I don't expect you to do it just because of the great tip I gave you. I'm just asking. Have you been to the Happy Mask Shop that just opened in Hyrule Castle Town Market? Everyone is talking about it. My little boy pesters me for a popular mask, but I don't have time to go there... So, could you go and get the mask for me next time you go to the market? If you don't feel like it, that's fine, but... Well, I have no choice, this is my job...'' The guard sighed, shaking his head lightly as he could already imagine his son's disappointment in him for not getting that mask.

Of course, Link could fix the mask for the guard while he was at the market already. It shouldn't be too much trouble, right? Even though this man had been mocking the blond, he had given him a nice tip to get a better shield. It was the last thing he could do for this man to make his son happy. For now, Link made his way back downstairs to leave Kakariko village and go back to the market to buy a proper shield.

The market was just as busy as the day before. It looked even much busier now. Link had to push himself through some people who were in the way, finding the Bazaar quickly enough. It wasn't a large shop, but it looked like a place where you could find any weapons and armor for travelers. Behind the counter stood a large, hairy man. For some reason, one eye looked bigger than the other, as it was about to pop out. Link took a look at the shelves. He saw a perfect shield on one of them, checking how much it was. 80 rupees. The boy grabbed his rupee bag and opened it, looking inside. There were only two rupees left... With a frustrating groan, the boy left the shop again. He didn't have enough to buy it. How could he gain enough rupees in the fastest way there is? Thinking deep, he just remembered how he earned enough the first time back in his hometown: through cutting grass and breaking pots! Now there wasn't much grass in the market area, so hopefully, he could find pots to break instead. Link ran around to look, entering some places too and making sure he wouldn't get any weird looks either like last time in the forest.

It wasn't easy. This place didn't seem to have any pots around to break. Perhaps he should go to Hyrule field, he had seen a lot of grass there. As he was about to cross the bridge that lead back out to the field, he noticed on his left a door he hadn't seen yet. Curious, he entered it. He stepped inside and there it was like a large treasure he just found... so many pots! ''Ha!'' Link shouted in excitement as he grabbed his sword. It was time to go all out. He grabbed the pots, he sliced the pots in half with a swing, he threw them everywhere he could. There were so many rupees coming out of them! Link stuffed his money bag until it was completely full. Now he sure had enough. He looked at Navi who chimed in excitement for him, holding his hand up to her and she bumped against it to give each other a high five.

Placing his bag on the counter, Link pointed at what he wanted to buy: the shield. ''Hm?'' The large man looked over at what the kid wanted to buy. He laughed a little. ''Kiddo, don't you think that will be a little too heavy for you? Okay, let's see if you have enough.'' The man grabbed the bag filled with rupees and emptied it. ''You sure got a lot.'' It surprised the seller. ''Hm, what? The guard at Death Mountain told you to come here? Ah, alright. It's that I know him well. I'll give you a discount, for you, it's 40 rupees. Have fun.'' Link had forgotten that would get a discount, but he was happy to get a proper shield now. This way his Deku Shield wouldn't get damaged. He put the Hylian Shield on his back, almost falling back as he lost his balance. It indeed was heavy. He wouldn't be able to hold it up in defense, it was way too big for him too.

Link just had to get used to the new weight on his back and walked out of the store. The Happy Mask Shop was right across from Bazaar, a huge sign with a laughing and a sad mask being used as decoration on top of the building to present the shop. ''Hiyeee! Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop!'' The man inside the shop right away greeted his customer with the friendliest smile on his face. ''We deal in masks that brings happiness to everyone! How would you like to be a happiness salesman? I'll lend you a mask. You sell the mask and bring the money back here. After you've sold all the masks, you will become happy yourself. Have faith...'' It was a strange shop it seemed. What was this man talking about with his lending masks and bringing money back? There was a puzzled look on Link's face. The shop looked pretty empty too, there was only one mask on the shelf. Link wasn't sure which mask the guard's son wanted either, but if that one was the only one available... Link pointed with a finger to the foxlike mask. ''Ah, yes. That's the Keaton Mask. It's very popular, hot, hot, hot, hot!'' The seller picked it up from the shelf to hand it to the child. ''You can give this to someone who wants it and they'll pay you rupees for it, come back when it's sold. Good luck.'' The man wove with a hand as Link left with it. It was a very strange shop.

With his new shield, he was good to go to Death Mountain. It was getting a little late now, so going there at night probably wouldn't be a good thing, maybe he should have some rest first. He could maybe stay here and find a nice place to sleep. Link spent the rest of his day checking the market, looking for any place that was offering a night to stay. Fortunate for the boy there was a woman who allowed for travelers to rest. Link took this opportunity to have a good night rest. The woman was kind enough to make some food for him.

''Hey...'' Navi chimed as Link laid on his back in a small, comfortable bed. She laid next to him on it. ''I wonder what Saria is going to say if we tell her we're going to save Hyrule. '' Saria... It has been two days, but Link already did miss her. He did wonder how she was doing in the forest without him. It wasn't like that they needed each other, but they did hang out almost every day together ever since Link could remember her. Saria was like a mother-figure to everyone in the forest, including to Link. The day he left he had promised he would visit, maybe he could go see her first before going up to Death Mountain. Who knew what sort of dangerous path he was going to take, it had the word 'death' in the name. At least he would have been able to see her one last time... The boy flashed his fairy a smile, giving Navi a light pat on her glowing body to let her know he thought it was a good idea to see Saria. They headed out right away after a good breakfast from the nice lady who had let them sleep in a comfortable bed for the night. It was quite a long walk back to the forest. Link couldn't wait to tell Saria the news.

When they reached back after a few hours of long walking through Hyrule Field, they arrived back in Kokiri Forest. The first thing Link checked was Saria's house. He assumed the girl would be there, but when he arrived the place was empty. The boy walked back outside, guessing she was somewhere else then.

''Link?'' A Kokiri child called him. The child had seen Link come out of Saria's house. ''Are you looking for Saria? She isn't here. She went to Lost Woods.'' They explained, which had Link a bit surprised. He wondered what Saria was doing in Lost Woods. ''I don't know why she went there, but you could look for her and ask her. She looked rather... sad when she left. I think she went to the Sacred Forest Meadow.'' The young hero nodded his head, waving with a hand to thank the Kokiri child for letting him know. He walked away, stopping in front of a hill he had to climb. Lost Woods was up there. The name already said it, it was easy to get lost in there unless you knew the place very well. He wondered what Saria was doing there.

Entering the large tree trunk to get to the woods, there could be music heard once arrived. Nobody knew exactly where the melody came from, but it had a happy sound to it. This wood was a mysterious place. Some say you'll die when you can't find the way back, some say you have to listen well to the music to be able to get out. Link had never entered it before, therefore he knew nothing about it.

There were four ways to go. Link stood in the middle of an open spot, four tree trunks surrounding him. Which way did he have to go? There were no signs of directions, so he had to guess. He decided to go left, where still music could be heard, but he yet again walked upon the same problem he just had a moment ago. He looked around, thinking which tree trunk he had to enter. This just went on and on... It was as if every path he took was the same. The music echoed through the woods still, he kept ending up to the same place over and over again. It was as if he was walking in circles. It got the child frustrated and he kicked against a small rock that laid in the grass. ''Calm down, Link. We'll get to it, I am sure!'' Navi tried to calm him down because getting angry wouldn't help. ''Okay? Take in a deep breath. You know what they say: listen well and follow the music.'' Link looked at his guardian fairy, slowly nodding his head. He took in a deep breath, letting it out. He closed his eyes, to make his ears work better and listen. When he felt much calmer, he pointed to a tree trunk to say they probably should enter it. Navi chimed and followed her friend.

For quite a long time it was going well until they got separated. Link chose a different path from Navi, having heard the music coming from somewhere else while Navi did too. ''I feel that we're close Link!'' Navi chimed, turning around. ''It must be- Link?'' There was no one behind her. There was no Link, she was all by herself in the forest. ''Link? Where are you, Link?!'' The small fairy flew around in search of her friend through the dark forest. ''Please answer me!'' But there was no answer. There was nothing, only the sound of music... It had Navi worried now. Link was somewhere out there, possibly lost in the woods. Navi needed to find him, but she might end up getting lost too if she wasn't careful. The small fairy froze when she heard a howling sound behind her from the bushes. She turned around quickly, a large beast coming at her with its claw. They were Wolfos, wolf-like monsters. Without Link around she had to fight on her own, all she could do for now was dodge the monsters.

''Hng...hn...'' Deep in the forest, Link sat on his knees in the grass, hands placed against his ears with his eyes closed shut, feeling like he was in pain. Everything was turning and twisting around him, the music wouldn't stop playing. He lost Navi somewhere... It was all he knew because she wasn't helping him to calm him down. He felt like he was going crazy. Entering the Lost Woods probably had been a bad idea after all. Through the playing melody, Link heard a giggling sound echoing in the music. He opened one eye, vision growing blurry with his headache. He saw feet in front of him, a dark skin tone. It wasn't a tall person, they seemed to be around Link's height. The giggle was there again. The young hero could see through his blurry vision that the stranger was holding an instrument, a flute, playing on it and making the melody.

''Lost in the woods, lost in Lots Woods. There is no way out, don't try. Screaming won't help, not even if you cry. Lost in the woods, lost in Lost Woods. You will stay in here forever until the day you will die.'' The stranger sang in the melody of the music, as if it was a rhyme made for this place. But there was no way that Link was planning on dying in this place. He had to find Saria and Navi now. ''Hm? What is wrong? You don't look so well, hihi.'' The stranger was obviously messing with the poor child. ''Do you not enjoy the music? Bummer, I was playing it special for you, hihi.~'' Link knew for sure he got separated from Navi thanks to this trickster. With trembling knees, he tried to get back up. They were trembling from weakness, his ears ringing from the music and making him drive crazy. With the strength Link had, he slapped the flute out of the other's hands. The instrument flew away, landing somewhere else. It had the trickster surprised, without the flute it as if a magic spell got broken. ''Ah-!'' The stranger jumped back. There was anger in those blue of eyes of the blond, standing up straight as he walked up to his new enemy. ''H-Hold on, hold on. Hahaha, this- it was all a joke!'' They were powerless without their own 'weapon'. ''Can't you take a little fun? Hahaha.'' It wasn't funny at all to Link, his expression clearly showing this and he even grabbed his sword. The other gulped. ''I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, don't harm me! I-I will lead out, okay? No jokes anymore.'' They felt pretty threatened by the boy. ''T-That way, you have to go that way.'' He pointed at a tree trunk.

Link's eyes followed the way the other pointed to. If looks could kill, this trickster would be dead by now. Link started walking, stopping and turning his head. He made a warning gesture with his sword, saying that way he would come back for them if they lied. He walked through the tree trunk. They weren't lying indeed. Link finally had reached the Sacred Forest Meadow. But where was Navi?

''Help!'' A high-pitched voice echoed through the place. Link right away dashed towards it, he recognized that voice all too well. Navi was under attack by Wolfos, they had cornered her and the poor fairy couldn't go anywhere. She had called and begged for Link several times, but she had lost a little bit of hope. Her own powers weren't strong enough to defeat the enemy. She could only see how the Wolfos were hovering above her, their sharp teeth showing as they were wanting to eat her. She tried to back away, but her body hit the wall behind her. One Wolfo raised its claw, ready to hurt the small fairy. Navi closed her eyes shut in fear.

''Haaaaaa!'' With a jump, someone stabbed the Wolfo in the back that was about to attack Navi. The Wolfo cried out in pain, the two of them turning around to meet their opponent. It was Link. He stood with his sword in hand, not fearing the enemy at all. He had one job and that was to protect Navi. He made them have their eyes only on him, running up to them to stab them over and over. ''Ya! Ha! Yaaa!'' The enemy fought Link, the boy got some damage from their sharp claws hitting him, but it didn't bother him much. He had to stay strong. It was two against one, but Link managed to defeat them both, making the Wolfos run away in fear as they gave up. Navi had watched in awe from her position. She couldn't believe that her companion had returned and saved her. When the Wolfos were out of sight, Link right away went to Navi. He got down on his knees, a worried look on his face. His friend thankfully was alive and okay, it seemed. He cupped her up in his hands, letting her rest in his hand palms. He smiled relieved at her, pressing her against his cheek to hug her.

''Link...'' Navi softly spoke, feeling the boy's warmth against her own small body. ''Thank you, Link... for saving me.'' Her body trembled a little as she was still a little shocked about what had happened. The boy pulled back, keeping her in his hands as if it was her shield now. He shook his head. This all had been his fault. He had been a fool to take a different path and leaving her alone. He pets her head gently in apology, she was safe now. ''Let's go to Saria, Link... I can feel the presence of her guardian fairy nearby; she isn't far away from us.'' Behind this place, Saria was somewhere. Link nodded his head as he placed Navi on top of his hat for her to rest.

It was a large maze Link had to go through to get to the end of the Sacred Forest Meadow. There were many dead ends, needing to turn around every time to find a new way he could go through. It took a long time, but Link finally got to the exit. He climbed up the stairs, a large, open place in sight. Someone was sitting on a tree trunk. It was Saria. She smiled at him, happy to see her friend. Link walked up to her to greet her.

''I've been waiting for you, Link.'' Saria spoke, holding her Ocarina in hand which she had been playing. ''This is the Sacred Forest Meadow. This is my secret place. I feel... This place will be very important for both of us someday. That's what I feel.'' She said, staring up to a ruin standing in this place for a mysterious reason. She looked down at her Ocarina. ''If you play the Ocarina here, you can talk with the spirits of the forest. Would you like to play the Ocarina with me?'' Saria asked him. Link nodded his head, gladly willing to play together. He grabbed his own Fairy Ocarina. ''Try to follow along with the melody I will play. Are you ready?'' The boy nodded once more and Saria placed her own Ocarina against her lips to show Link the melody. It was a very well-known tune... the melody from the Lost Woods. ''Great! Great!'' Saria happily said after they were done playing the song. ''Do you promise not to forget this song? When you want to hear my voice, play this song. You can talk to me anytime.'' It was a magical way to communicate with each other.

Link was about to go, but he still hadn't told Saria about his quest from the Princess to save Hyrule. He explained his story to Saria, who at first looked surprised, then worried, but in the end, she smiled. ''I already had a feeling...'' She admitted. ''I already knew you were a special someone, Link. That you would leave the forest someday for something important.'' Her hunch had been right. ''But that's great, isn't it? For you to be able to save the world. I wish you lots of luck with it and please be careful.'' She couldn't lose Link like that. ''You're my best friend...'' Link promised her that nothing would happen to him. He promised he would save Hyrule, no matter the costs. Before going, he wrapped his arms around her. Many things were laying ahead of him, dangerous things. He didn't want to just go and leave without a proper goodbye first. Saria was surprised by his action but smiled warmly. She returned the gesture, placing her hand on his back. ''Go... Link. Save Hyrule, do what you have to do. I'll be here to support you. Play my song whenever you need me or want to hear my voice. I'll be waiting for your return even if it takes forever.'' She softly spoke, caressing his back.

The boy pulled back slowly. He looked in her green eyes, nodding his head. Saria meant everything to him, she always took good care of him. It was time to return this favor, to protect those he cared about. Link nodded his head but promised her that he would return soon enough again. He wove with a hand as he left, running out of the place again to move on to his new goal: Death Mountain.


	6. The Rock Man

The young hero arrived back to Kakariko village after his long walk back through the forest. The gate to Death Mountain was open, so now he could climb up to the Gorons who lived up there on the mountain. First things first: the guard who had requested for the mask. Link had the mask still with him, walking up the man who guarded the way to Death Mountain. ''Oh, hey, Mr. Hero. It's you again. Did you get the shield I told you about?'' He wondered. Link nodded his head and he also got something else. He fished out the mask he got from the Happy Mask Shop. The guard looked surprised. ''That's... oh, thank you!'' He said, taking it over from the child. ''This is exactly the one my son told me about. Thank you. Here, fifteen rupees for you.'' The man gave Link the money. ''My son will be very happy with this!''

It made the young hero happy that he could make someone happy. Perhaps that weird seller was right after all. He placed the money in his rupee bag, knowing that he should head to the shop, but he had more important things to do right now. He could finally start his journey to Death Mountain. He started walking up, it was already very rocky... It was a very steep path. When the boy came up to a point, it went up much higher. He saw lots of rocks laying on the ground that were blocking an entrance to a cave. Next to the entrance there laid a strange, brown ball on the ground. Link tilted his head in confusion, walking up to it to check it out.

It suddenly moved and it made a bit of a moaning sound as the ball sat up. ''Hello?'' The strange creature spoke, looking at the child. ''I am a Goron.'' It greeted because it saw that the human boy was a bit surprised by its appearance. ''Do you see that boulder over there? It blocks the Dodongo Cavern, a place that was once a very important place for us Gorons. But one day, many Dodongos suddenly appeared inside the cavern. It became a very dangerous place! On top of that, a Gerudo in black armor used his magic to seal the entrance with that boulder! If you want to hear more Goron gossips, head up to our city. Goron City is just a little way up this trail. It won't much take longer to get there, even on foot.''

The boy stepped back, nodding his head to go further. ''Hey!'' Navi called as Link wanted to walk. ''A Gerudo in black armor... this must have been Ganondorf's doing!'' That evil man even bothered the Gorons. Link made his way up further, needing to dodge in time when a Goron decided to roll down the mountain out of nowhere. ''Ahh-!'' Linked yelped in surprise, pressing himself against the rocky wall to not get hit by it and get harmed. That was way too close! The boy looked it was safe, moving further until he would reach the entrance to the Goron City. He had no idea how high up he was right now, but he felt like he was almost on top of the mountain now. He saw a wide opening with a sign that said ''Goron City''.

Inside, the 'city' looked more of an underground place. There was no grass, but mud and rocks everywhere. Only weird plants grew there. The houses were holes made in walls. Link knew for sure that no human lived here. The creature he had just met wasn't anything like a human either. They were rock-people. Linked bumped against one by accident. ''Ow-ow-ow...'' The Goron said, looking down at the child. ''I'm so hungry...'' The creature spoke, its stomach growling. ''We Gorons are starving... we need help. Our cavern is blocked by a boulder and there is no way we can enter it. The food we eat is in there, we are so used to the rocks in there that all other rocks aren't tasty...'' The Goron sighed, looking all gloomy. ''I wish to eat soon...''

It seemed to be a serious issue in the Goron City that the cavern was blocked. It was probably best to find the leader of the Gorons to talk about this problem since Link could help. That and they had the Spiritual Stone of Fire which the boy needed. He had no idea where to find the leader though, but he had noticed he could go all the way down. There was a large pot in the middle of the place, it had a different expression of faces on it. There was an entrance to a room down there where the pot was, but the door was closed.

''Big brother has shut himself up in his room saying, 'I will wait for the Royal Family's messenger'. He won't open the door for anyone.'' A Goron spoke when Link was in front of the closed door. Royal Family's messenger... He remembered that Impa told him the song she had taught him had magical powers that only those who are from the Royal Family could learn. The boy grabbed his Ocarina, playing the melody of the lullaby. It worked. The door opened up and Link was allowed to go inside.

Inside the room stood a large rock-man. He looked different from all the other Gorons in the city. This Goron had manes and was much bigger than the others. ''What the heck?! Who are you?!'' The Goron asked when he saw a human child enter the place. ''When I heard the song of the Royal Family, I expect their messenger had arrived, but... you're just a little kid!'' He looked somewhat offended by this surprise. ''Has Darunia, the big boss of the Gorons, really lost so much status to be treated like this by his Sworn Brother, the King?'' Darunia, apparently the leader, couldn't believe his eyes. ''Now I'm REALLY angry! Get out of my face, now!'' The rock-man spoke in an angry tone, clearly not in the mood for pranks. Link wondered what had him so angry. ''Are you asking why I am in such a bad mood right now? Ancient creatures have infested the Dodongo's Cavern! WE've had a poor harvest of our special crop, Bomb Flowers! Starvation and hunger because of the rock shortage! But... This is a Goron problem! We don't need any help from strangers!'' Darunia was too proud as a Goron leader to accept help from outsiders. He would solve this problem on his own.

Link wished there was a way to make this Goron less angry. From the looks of it, the leader didn't want to talk to anybody right now. He wished there was a way to cheer the creature up some. The boy thought for a long time, coming up with an idea. Some people grew happy by listening to music. Link grabbed his Fairy Ocarina, playing the melody he just learned from Saria. It had driven Link crazy in the forest, but the song had a happy sound to it. It seemed to have an effect on the rock-man whose face changed from being very angry to joy. Link continued playing the song as the creature started dancing to the melody.

His feet started moving, lifting off the ground and his body and arms moved to. He spun around, dancing to the song as if his life depended on it. ''Hot... oh! Come on! What a HOT beat! OH!'' Darunia shouted in excitement, his wave of angry emotions changing back into happiness, a huge smile on his face. ''Whoooooah! Yeaaaah! Yahoo!'' Darunia was enjoying the song a lot. When Link stopped playing, Darunia stopped dancing too with a pose: he dropped the head into the bent crook of a slanted, upwardly angled arm, while raising the opposite arm out straight in a parallel direction, needing to catch his breath for a moment after.

The two travelers stared at the Goron's ridiculous pose, unsure how to respond. ''...Nice'' Navi commented.

''What a nice tune! Just like that my depression is all gone! Something just came over me. I suddenly I wanted to dance like crazy!'' The rock-man laughed, his frown all gone. ''I am Darunia! I'm the big boss of the Gorons. Was there something you wanted to ask me about?'' Now the leader seemed to be wanting to talk. Link explained what he came for and Darunia raised an eyebrow. ''What? You want the Spiritual Stone of Fire, too? The Spiritual Stone of Fire, also known as the Goron's Ruby, is our race's hidden treasure... But hold on - I'm not going to give it to you that easily. If you want it so badly... Why don't you go to the Dodongo's Cavern and destroy the monsters inside of it to prove you're a real man? That way, everybody will be happy again! If you do it, I will give you anything you want, even the Spiritual Stone. I have something for you, I'm not really giving you this in return for anything, but take it anyways. If you wear this, even a little fella like you can pick a Flower Bomb.'' Darunia showed the child a golden bracelet that looked like a crown. He gave it to the boy who right away put it around his wrist.

One thing was for sure: Link had to enter the Dodongo's Cavern to help the Gorons. But the place was blocked by a huge boulder... It would be impossible to push it away by hand, not even the strongest Goron would be able to do it. He would need a bomb for it. The boulder was outside, but Link hadn't seen any bombs growing near it. There should be another way...

''...That Darunia is strange. Never in my whole fairy life have I ever witnessed something so embarrassing.'' The fairy said to Link, who only laughed a bit at her comment. The Goron leader was indeed a strange creature.

The boy ran through the city to find the exit back. Because the entrance of the cavern was outside, Link assumed he should be opening the entrance there somehow. Outside, he only saw rocks laying around and no Flower Bombs. He needed to take a walk around the place in search of them. After some walking, he saw a cliff with something growing like grass. The boy squinted his eyes to look better. It was a Flower Bomb. The boy grinned to himself, running up to the strange plants. They were placed close next to the boulder, he only had to throw these down now. With an excited grin, Link easily picked up a bomb in his hands. The timer it had right away went off and Link had to throw it away in time before it would explode in his hands. He threw it down, hoping it would explode on the boulder.

There was a loud explosion, but as the boy looked down, the boulder still was there. He had missed it. The boy frowned a little at this, he thought had thrown the bomb right. Luckily for him, the plants actually grew back very fast. He picked another one up, throwing it down once more. This time he looked down to see if he truly was aiming right, but the bomb again exploded a little far from the large boulder. With a stomp on the ground, Link picked the bomb once more up. He grew a little annoyed that his aiming skills were bad. This throw must be a hit, it was going to be his third throw. He lifted the bomb up above his head with all his strength, leaning back before throwing it away for extra speed. ''Haa!'' The boy yelled as he did this action, the bomb falling down and exploding. Large pieces of rock from the boulder flew in the air as the entrance to the cavern finally had been opened. Link could finally feel happy about it, wiping off some sweat from his forehead with how long it took. He couldn't just jump down from the cliff to get to the cavern, so he had to run all the way back down.

Once back down, Link stood in front of the entrance. He wondered what the cavern was like inside. He had a feeling it might be a little dark in there. He already grabbed his sword just in case, because Darunia told him there were monsters inside. He stepped inside, entering the Dodongo's Cavern.


End file.
